Chapter 129 Spilled water cannot be gathered up again, a broken mirror cannot be mended.
It took Wei Heng two afternoons to finish drawing the music for the emperor and empress.
Emperor Xianping was extremely concerned with his image. No matter how upset he was, he would never do anything inappropriate in front of Wei Heng, whom he considered his old rival in love. After admiring Wei Heng's painting with Empress Xie, Emperor Xianping praised Wei Heng highly and even wanted to promote him to the rank of Academician of the Jixian Academy, a sixth-rank official, to be responsible for compiling classics for the court and recruiting reclusive talents.
Government offices like the Secretariat, the Jixian Academy, and the Hongwen Academy were the starting points for the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who remained in the capital to begin their official careers. Pei Xingshu, who achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations, was initially appointed as a junior official at the Jixian Academy, a ninth-rank position. Now, he has risen to the rank of Minister. Wei Heng, without participating in the spring imperial examinations, was promoted to Academician of the Jixian Academy as a Juren (successful candidate in the provincial examinations), a move that would undoubtedly arouse envy among many.
At least on the surface, Emperor Xianping greatly appreciated and favored Wei Heng, the talented scholar from Jingzhou whom he had specially invited to the capital.
Wei Heng kowtowed to express his gratitude, but still politely declined: "For more than twenty years, I have been accustomed to a life of leisure. When the mood strikes, I may climb mountains under the stars or cruise lakes under the moon. After my enjoyment, I often sleep for days on end, unable to distinguish between day and night. Even if I were to accept Your Majesty's favor for the sake of wealth and honor, my heart is not in officialdom. I fear that I would neglect state affairs and fail Your Majesty's grace. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to rescind your decree and allow me to continue living the life of a carefree hermit."
Emperor Xianping was merely testing Wei Heng to see if he still harbored designs on Empress Xie. If Wei Heng had truly wanted to stay, Emperor Xianping had plenty of ways to torment him. Since Wei Heng wisely refused, Emperor Xianping couldn't keep such a thorn in his side every day. So he continued to try to persuade him to stay, but Wei Heng insisted on declining. Only then did Emperor Xianping reward Wei Heng with a hundred taels of gold and let him leave the palace.
Wei Heng, once he left the palace, was truly like a white crane. He went to the market, hired a carriage and two bodyguards, and flew away from the capital without any hesitation, not even going to see his own nephew, Wei Ling.
The Imperial Guards who were monitoring his movements reported the news to Emperor Xianping.
Emperor Xianping didn't care whether Wei Heng still loved Empress Xie. What he cared about was where Empress Xie's heart lay. He insisted on bringing Wei Heng to the capital so that he could see Wei Heng's appearance with his own eyes and judge whether Wei Heng was worthy of Empress Xie's love when she was young and whether he was worthy of her unforgettable feelings!
However, this was a private matter between him and Empress Xie, and it was not appropriate to spread it to the court. Therefore, it was not until early winter, when Wei Heng was about to return to Yandang Mountain, that Emperor Xianping sent someone to summon Lanxi and Huicao, the two stewards of Empress Xie, to the Qianyuan Palace that afternoon.
Lanxi and Huicao were two head maids that Empress Xie brought from Jingzhou. There were two others, one of whom had married while still in the Prince's residence, and the other who died young due to illness.
Having been in the capital for so many years, the two had never been summoned by Emperor Xianping alone. Now, in the palace, with Consort Li vying for the Empress's favor, Lanxi and Huicao nervously looked at Empress Xie upon learning that Emperor Xianping had summoned them.
Empress Xie guessed that since Emperor Xianping had managed to summon the reclusive Wei Heng to the capital, he would not let the matter go easily, and that he was now looking for her two maids most likely to interrogate them about something.
Lanxi and Huicao are both in their early forties this year, making them old servants in the palace. However, even the civil and military officials of the previous dynasty would be trembling with fear in front of Emperor Xianping, let alone two maids.
"Go ahead, answer whatever the Emperor asks, there's no need to force yourself," Empress Xie gently reassured the two.
In a way, she should be grateful that Emperor Xianping chose to start by questioning her maids. If Emperor Xianping had sent people to Jingzhou to interrogate the servants who had worked at the Xie residence, who knows if some of them might have been instructed by others to maliciously frame her? Of course, Emperor Xianping did not do this, also to save face and not to make a big fuss.
Lanxi and Huicao arrived at Qianyuan Hall with trepidation.
Emperor Xianping dismissed all the palace servants, even Eunuch Xue, and the inner palace was so quiet you could hear your own breathing.
Looking at the two familiar maids' faces, Emperor Xianping touched the jade pendant at his waist and said indifferently, "I am old and have begun to miss the past. I know my own affairs, but I know nothing about the Empress's past in Jingzhou. You have been serving the Empress for a long time. Just answer truthfully later, and I will let you go when I have heard enough."
The two women respectfully replied, "Yes."
Emperor Xianping thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "When the Empress was in Jingzhou, was she also so unsmiling, spending her days with poetry and literature?"
The two women instinctively looked at each other.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Xianping suddenly told Lanxi to go out first: "I want to hear the truth, so let's ask her alone. If anyone is lying to me, don't blame me for not showing any mercy."
Unable to disobey the imperial decree, Lanxi had no choice but to bow her head and retreat. She was then led outside by Eunuch Xue to wait, ensuring that she could not hear the questions and answers inside.
Lanxi and Huicao were both loyal to Empress Xie, but they didn't know that the painter who painted the portraits of the Empress and the Emperor was actually Wei Heng, nor did they know that Emperor Xianping was jealous of the Empress. Besides, even if they knew, the Emperor could go to Jingzhou to confront the old man of the Xie family about some trivial matters, so they dared not deceive the Emperor.
Thus, in their answers, Emperor Xianping seemed to see Empress Xie in her youth, a little girl who loved reading from a young age. She would laugh when she read good articles, laugh when she wrote words she was satisfied with, laugh when she was with her grandparents, and laugh when she saw beautiful scenery while out for a spring outing. After arriving in the capital, she stopped laughing because she often missed her grandparents.
Lanxi and Huicao answered these questions calmly and in unison.
It wasn't until Emperor Xianping inquired about Wei Heng that this happened.
"Does the Empress know Wei Heng, the second son of Elder Wei?"
Lanxi was visibly flustered for a moment, but quickly calmed down and said, "I recognize him. Young Master Wei Heng is quite famous in Jiangling. Our master appreciates his talent and always invites Young Master Wei Heng to banquets. However, Your Highness has only discussed scholarship with Young Master Wei Heng with Master and has no private relationship with him."
Hui Cao remained calm and composed, not even flinching, and gave a similar answer.
Emperor Xianping: "Has the Empress ever praised Wei Heng in front of you?"
Lanxi lowered her head and said, "His Majesty knows that I have praised Young Master Wei Heng's poems and paintings. Her Majesty likes these, and she will also praise the poems of other talented scholars from Jingzhou as long as she likes them."
Hui Cao: "I have praised him. Once, there was a literary gathering in Jiangling. The master ordered someone to copy a collection of poems, and the poems by Prince Wei Heng were generally considered to be the best."
Emperor Xianping: "That's strange. The Empress loves to collect the poems and essays of the great masters of this dynasty. Since Wei Heng's poems are so good, why haven't I seen them in the Empress's poetry collection?"
Lanxi's forehead was beaded with sweat. She guessed that the Empress was trying to avoid suspicion. After all, she and her maids had all noticed the Empress's girlish feelings back then, and they had even teased her about Wei Heng in their private quarters. It wasn't until the late Emperor issued the imperial decree of marriage that the mistress and servants seemed to have completely forgotten about Wei Heng and stopped mentioning him altogether. But she couldn't answer like that. Before she could think of a reply, Emperor Xianping simply chased her out.
When it was Huicao's turn, she thought for a moment and said in a speculative tone, "Your Majesty only started copying the poetry collection after arriving in the capital. Although Young Master Wei Heng's poems are good, he and Your Majesty have some private relationship. If it gets out, it may cause unnecessary suspicion and misunderstanding. So Your Majesty deliberately avoids suspicion."
Emperor Xianping laughed: "Unnecessary suspicion and misunderstanding. Are you accusing me of prying into the Empress's private affairs?"
Hui Cao immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "This servant dares not."
Emperor Xianping: "You're quite the smooth talker. I see you're very bold. Guards, drag him out and slap him fifty times. Send him to the laundry department."
Central Palace.
Empress Xie personally saw off the two people who were by her side, but all she got was Lanxi kneeling in front of her with tears in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, I failed to answer His Majesty's question in time. Did I cause you trouble?" Lanxi asked anxiously and remorsefully, knowing that her hesitation would surely be interpreted as guilt by the Emperor.
Empress Xie helped her up and said bitterly, "The Emperor already suspects me. It doesn't matter how you answer. He just wants to vent his anger on someone and do it for me to see."
As the ruler of the land, the emperor is guilty of any offense, regardless of his own reasoning.
That evening, as Empress Xie had predicted, Emperor Xianping came to the palace. Instead of directly confronting her, he casually pointed out Hui Cao's sarcastic remarks: "Who does she think she is, daring to satirize me? If she weren't an old servant of yours, I would have cut off her head."
Empress Xie could not plead for Hui Cao, as that would harm her, so she could only go along with Emperor Xianping's words and say, "It was my fault for neglecting their upbringing. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Emperor Xianping looked at Empress Xie, whose expression remained indifferent, and asked, "Then may the Empress answer for me why you deliberately did not include Wei Heng's poems, and why, even after twenty-five years, you could recognize Wei Heng at a glance, yet you pretended to have no recollection of Wei Heng's name in front of me?"
Empress Xie lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Emperor Xianping gripped the teacup in his hand tightly: "Is the Empress feeling guilty?"
Empress Xie raised her eyes and looked directly at her emperor husband, saying, "Wei Heng and I are completely innocent and have never said or done anything improper. However, we do indeed admire each other in poetry and literature. I did not copy his poems to avoid suspicion, but Your Majesty probably won't believe me, so I don't know how to answer in a way that will satisfy Your Majesty."
"Completely innocent?"
With a sarcastic laugh, Emperor Xianping slammed his teacup down, glaring at Empress Xie, who sat upright in her chair, pacing back and forth, gritting his teeth as he went: "If you were truly innocent, you would shed tears whenever you saw him, as if you were so unhappy living by my side? If you were truly innocent, you would have carefully treasured his paintings for over twenty years? If you were truly innocent, you would give me the cold shoulder every day as if I were unworthy to see your smile? I think you clearly have something to hide, which is why you dare not mention him in front of me, afraid that I will discover your affair from back then!"
Empress Xie looked at the broken porcelain and water stains on the ground and answered them one by one: "I saw him shed tears because he was homesick, and I collected his paintings because they depicted my grandparents. I have never given the Emperor a cold look; I rarely smile because there is nothing to laugh about."
"Nothing to laugh about?" Emperor Xianping grabbed Empress Xie's arm and lifted her up, staring intently into her eyes. "So many women outside would love to marry into wealth and status, but I made you a princess first and then an empress. You're already the most honored woman in the world, and your son is the crown prince. What more could you want? Do you have to marry someone like Wei Heng who can write good poems to please you to be able to laugh?"
Empress Xie had already explained everything she could, but her emperor husband wouldn't listen, so she simply remained silent.
The calmer and more fearless she was, the more the anger in Emperor Xianping's chest burned. He couldn't do anything about Empress Xie. Emperor Xianping glanced around the inner palace. The teacups and vases were all vulgar things, things that Empress Xie didn't care about!
Emperor Xianping shoved Empress Xie aside and went to her study, tearing up every painting he saw.
Empress Xie thought he had left, but upon learning that he was actually in the study, she rushed over immediately, trying to stop the emperor from wantonly destroying the calligraphy and paintings of famous people.
Emperor Xianping felt a sense of relief when he saw that she was finally getting anxious, but he still found the painting he cared about the most.
It was painted by Wei Heng. Emperor Xianping had seen it many times with his wife, who was homesick. But now, recalling it, and thinking that Empress Xie was missing Wei Heng through that painting, Emperor Xianping could not tolerate its existence for even a moment.
Emperor Xianping wanted to destroy Wei Heng's painting, but the painting in Empress Xie's eyes was the only portrait left in the world by her grandparents.
"don't want!"
Empress Xie, who didn't even bother to argue, rushed over, but she was a step too slow. Before Emperor Xianping could be knocked down by her, his hand had already successfully torn the painting in half.
With a "rip," the painting was ruined.
With a thud, Emperor Xianping, who had been ill and frail in recent years, fell heavily to the ground, his forehead scratching against the corner of the chair.
When Emperor Xianping, who was lying on the ground, came to his senses, the first thing he saw was a drop of blood dripping from his forehead onto the ground.
He's bleeding, shouldn't she at least feel sorry for him?
Despite being injured, Emperor Xianping felt a strange sense of joy. He turned to look at Empress Xie, intending to deliberately frighten her, but found her kneeling beside him, nervously piecing together the torn painting. All her tears were for that painting.
You're reluctant to part with it, aren't you?
Emperor Xianping lunged forward, grabbed half of the painting, and smeared it fiercely on his forehead, making his wound hurt even more and the painting paper even more wrinkled. Only after venting his anger did Emperor Xianping throw the painting paper on the ground, glance at Empress Xie one last time, and leave in a rage.
Empress Xie stared blankly at the blood-stained half of the painting, which depicted the upper bodies of her grandparents. Their once kind faces were now stained with blood. As for her, she was in the other half of the painting, quietly leaning against her grandmother's knees, forcing a smile as she looked at the painter because she was reluctant to leave home.
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Author's Note: The Emperor and Empress have finished their battle [poor face]
100 small red envelopes, see you around 10 pm for the second update!
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